Balding around eyes

[petchickenlover]

My duckling have been bald around their eyes for a little while... at first i figured it was just a part of them getting feathers, but now one of their eyes look funny. She's about 4 weeks old now.. Didn't see any bugs on her or anything.. what do you think?? Excuse the photos, my camera doesn't like focusing on what it's suppose to focus on lol!

 

[Amiga]

Could be an eye infection or mites. Does she have constant access to water deep enough to wash her entire head?

You may need some antibiotic ointment or eyedrops. I would not let this go any longer without getting help.

 

[petchickenlover]

Quote:
hmm okay. what kind of ointment or eyedrops would you suggest? i think she can get her head in the waterer, it's one of those big 3 gallon things like This

 

[FenDruadin]

She looks pretty large to be drinking out of that. As they grow, they start needing deeper dishes. If they can't keep their faces clean, it might be causing problems.

But honestly, it's really hard to know what could be causing it, and treatment could just make it worse without a diagnosis. If it's fungal, then antibiotics will make it worse. If it's bacterial, then an anti-fungal ointment will make it worse. Is there any way you can get a vet or someone with waterfowl experience to look at her? If there is a waterfowl rescue group in your area, they might be willing to answer questions or look at pictures to help you come up with a diagnosis.

In any event, a little extra nutrition never goes amiss, so you might start by adding some baby vitamins to their water. Also, what are they eating? Is the food fresh this season (as opposed to a bag leftover from a previous season)? Where do they live--indoors in a brooder, outdoors in a pen, on straw, wood chips, etc.. ?

 

[petchickenlover]

Quote:
They get Purina Flock Raiser, i think it's new?lol they live outdoors in a brooder with the puppy pee pads. They usually get out on grass daily but this week the weather has been AWFUL so they haven't been able to get out

 

[friendlyearth]

Can you use neosporin with pain relief on a duck?

 

[hossfeathers]

Can you use neosporin with pain relief on a duck?

I would NOT until I checked with a bird/poultry vet. Plain saline drops should be okay.

In case of doubt, don't use human meds on birds. As they are not mammals, a five pound bird often reacts very oddly to medicines that are fine for a 150 pound person.​

 

[petchickenlover]

Quote:
I would NOT until I checked with a bird/poultry vet. Plain saline drops should be okay.

In case of doubt, don't use human meds on birds. As they are not mammals, a five pound bird often reacts very oddly to medicines that are fine for a 150 pound person.

Put some plain saline drops on her eyes, also put a small bowl of water [big enough for their heads] in their pen. hopefully this clears up fast

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I would NOT until I checked with a bird/poultry vet. Plain saline drops should be okay.

In case of doubt, don't use human meds on birds. As they are not mammals, a five pound bird often reacts very oddly to medicines that are fine for a 150 pound person.

Put some plain saline drops on her eyes, also put a small bowl of water [big enough for their heads] in their pen. hopefully this clears up fast

I use 2 gallon buckets for my ducks. They are very messy so they will probably need more than one small bowl. This can't be stressed enough they need to be able to dunk their heads into the water to clean out their eyes and nostrils. I don't put their food or water inside their house. it's outside too messy inside. When they go to bed at night the food gets locked up til next morning and they all get clean water for the start of a new day.

 

[FenDruadin]

Saline drops are a great idea! In fact, salt water is amazingly healing for many ailments. You might even want to put a bucket of salt water in their pen (AND a bucket of fresh water--don't force them to drink the salt water) for them to use as they choose. Unlike many remedies, salt water is good for you (topically--not ingested) regardless of the cause of illness. It's fairly good at killing both fungal and bacterial infections (ever noticed how quickly little cuts and scratches heal during a week at the beach?). Good luck!